Industry Structure

• Design houses
• Freelance
• Networking {Creates connections & opens up opportunities}
• Collaboration {Beneficial for gaining new skills & building bigger networks}
• Exhibitions {Showcases your work and represents you as an artist}
• Competitions {Provides the opportunity to get nationally or even globally recognized}

Different sections of the market:

Design Houses/Groups:

Usually have a set style and require a wide range of varied skill. They can also differ from small partnerships who reach out for freelance assistance when required, to big organizations that have offices situated world wide.

Freelance:

Allows a lot of creative freedom, you secure the work yourself and become your own boss. This particular route appeals to many as it sounds simple, however it requires a lot of work on your behalf and you need to provide yourself with a lot of self-motivation. Must work to a legal structure.

Advertising Agencies:

This line of marketing requires a lot of hard work and even the occasional sacrifice of sleep, in the long run, however, it's said to pay off. Since commercial can take many different forms (press, online, tv, big screen etc.) it's important to do research in order to identify the varied agencies which will be more interested or willing to take on your style of work.

Editorial:

This specific area involves everything from daily newspapers, weekly magazines, and glossy publications. With tight deadlines and mass produce of products you have to be quick on your feet. Creative freedom varies depending on which area you apply to, for example the newspaper design route has little to no creativity due to fast paced (often daily) deadlines and excessive pressure, whereas magazine spreads focus more so on the aesthetic aspect of things, preferring to have creative diversity within their range.

Book Publishing:

Book publishing revolves around the design of hardback, paperback, fiction and non-fiction books, whether they're aimed at the old, the young, or the in between. It can provide work for a variety of designers/illustrators with any acquired range of skills and it's a good starting area for newbie designer graduates to be nurtured into the industry. Naturally, an interest in books/reading is required and pay particular mind to which genre you apply your style to.

Comics & Graphic Novels:

The kind of living you make from this particular design route depends heavily on where you're based. The United States, France and Japan have a vaster market for this artistic area, but even the most mainstream comics are still often overlooked. The style and genre of your comic/graphic novel will largely effect whether you will have to extend to foreign markets (or possibly additional ones, such as story-boarding and character development) and the two routes which you can go down, independent or commercial, each offer different advantages and disadvantages.

Television & Film:

Competition is big in this particular market because of it's 'niche' stereotype. Graphic designers aren't typically employed by television companies and in-house designer are more likely to be employed to create graphics for smaller, more local productions. Motion-graphics is best directed towards broadcast design specialists or production companies, however each lacks creative freedom. The film industry also takes on motion-graphics design for trailers, and you can gain employment for work revolving around print work/web-design (posters, flyers, advertisements and DVD packaging). Illustrators are typically more involved with working storyboards and concept art.

Computer Games Development:

More based towards artists and animators than designers. This particular area can provide illustrators with permanent in-house work and freelance commissions, as well as opportunities to travel. Graphic designers aren't completely un-involved in this area, however, as they play a large role in the promotion and packaging of upcoming games.

Greetings Cards:

Greetings card publishers vary from small, one-man teams, to larger scaled international operations and there are a total of two categories which you can get involved with - wholesale and direct to retail. Wholesale cards, although their standards appeared to have risen over the years, tend to produce bland and generic designs, whereas DTR gives the opportunity to be more individual and even offers better pay. It is preferable in this area that the designer/illustrator have a variation of styles, however, since the gift industry can be speculative, any developmental work often goes unpaid.

Sources used:

Books:

1. TAYLOR, F. (2010) How to Create a Portfolio & Get Hired Laurence King Publishing Ltd. London